Johnson, Maicelo Victorious on Thrilling ESPN2 Friday Night Fights

ByGary Shaw Productions

Last evening, Gary Shaw Productions presented another great night of boxing on ESPN “Friday Night Fights” at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, WA.

In the main event, Tureano Johnson (15-1, 10 KOs) handed Mike Gavronski (14-1-1, 10 KOs) his first defeat, as they battled in a 10-round middleweight showdown for the WBC Continental Americas title.

Johnson started off slow, but kept the pressure on Gavronski, wearing him down as the fight went into the later rounds. With the win, Johnson gets back into world title contention. Scorecards read 99-91 across the board in favor of Johnson.

“I wanted to get back in the win column,” said Johnson, “Gavronski is a good fighter with a lot of heart so I take my hat off to him for going the distance with me. I learned a lot it this fight and I feel I still have room to grow as a fighter.

“My goal is to become a champion one day and I’m not going to stop until I accomplish it. My promoter Gary Shaw says he’ll get me a big fight so I’m just going to keep working hard in the gym. I’ll be back in the ring before you know it.”

In the 10-round co-feature, lightweights, Art Hovhannisyan (17-2-2, 9 KOs) and Jonathan Maicelo (21-1, 12 KOs) went the distance in an exciting action packed bout. Both fighters had their moments, but is was Maicelo who took control of the fight from the start.

Maicelo used his superior boxing skills to outwork Hovahannisyan, landing the cleaner shots throughout the bout. Every time Hovahannisyan looked to take control, Maicelo would come back with some hard shots to halt his momentum.

When it was all said and done, Maicelo won a split decision to capture the WBC International Silver Title. Scorecards read 100-90 Maicelo, 96-94 Hovahannisyan, and 97-93 Maicelo.

“I trained really hard for this fight and my conditioning made a positive difference,” said Maicelo. “I knew Hovhannisyan was going to be tough and he brought the fight to me. My timing was on tonight and I was landing some clean shots. I’m looking forward to what Gary Shaw has planned for me in the future.”

Undercard results:

Kenneth Simms Jr. defeated Evan Woolsey via third round knockout, Eduardo Martinez won a unanimous decision against Lavale Wilson, Fatlum Zhuta vs. Shariff Woo Johnson ended in a majority draw and Jennifer Hamann defeated Ariel Beck via unanimous decision.